Musica
by LadyRainbow
Summary: #2 in the AU Switcheroo series. Short First Contact piece. The Enterprise encounters a new life form, but it does it have hostile intentions? Please R&R. Thanks. COMPLETE w/Chapter 5.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: "Musica" is the second story in the AU Switcheroo stories. It was not part of the original series (so this is brand new). This picks up a few days after "MWBB".**

**Travis embarks on a new scientific project. Certain members of the crew need to pass their phase pistol qualifications, including Hoshi. T'Pol, Kov and Phlox decide to explore the "Human side of life".**

**Eventual pairings: R/S, TnT (a little bit of Hayes/Sato in the beginning)**

**Rating: T**

**Please R&R. Thanks.

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**

**One**

**Captain's Log: February 7, 2154**

**Three days after the end of "May the Wind be at Our Backs"**

We are entering the Keshwa sector, where Commander Mayweather has detected an unusual space phenomenon. A Class D white dwarf is in its final throes of life; it will eventually contract and fade out into a black dwarf. According to Travis, it had been a supergiant, but it released its outer layers of gas as the Keshwa Nebula, and this is what's left of it. It usually takes billions of years for a white dwarf to "cool", so to speak, so no one has actually seen one this far along in its process. Astronomy and Astrophysics have been hives of activity as they record all sorts of data from both the white dwarf and the nebula.

Travis loves the vastness of space------he was born and raised a Boomer. His family lives on the ECS Horizon, a cargo ship. He has the zest and the enthusiasm of someone half his age, and the crew looks to him for guidance. I'm glad to have him as my First and Science Officer.

---end log

*****

"Morning, Commander."

Travis grinned at his Science second-in-command as he stepped out of the turbolift. "Good morning, Ellen. Anything interesting happen on the night shift?"

"Got the latest readings for you," Lieutenant Ellen Varianis said. She nodded at the image on the screen: a dense, glowing sphere of gas, its internal fuel almost exhausted. It struggled to flare up once more in a burst of gamma rays. As Travis and Ellen watched, the readings spiked briefly before settling back into a constant stream.

"How often does that happen?" Travis asked.

Ellen shrugged and answered, "It's completely random, but when it comes, it blankets the sensors with static for a couple of seconds. We've had to make adjustments to compensate for it."

He sighed and touched the image of the dying star. "It'll take at least several more millennia before it burns itself out and the gravitational shifts finally settle."

"It's amazing to see all the changes first-hand, sir, but I wouldn't want to get overly close to 'em."

Travis nodded with a rueful laugh. "That's why we're watching from a safe distance. I think the Captain wouldn't appreciate us being caught by a gravity well."

"Or hit by radiation? Or any other number of potential mishaps?"

"Exactly, but if we don't take a few calculated risks, we'll never know what's out there. Besides, we can't pass up on an opportunity like this."

"Our contribution to science."

Travis chuckled; Ellen was a scientist to the core, and he appreciated her enthusiasm. "Exactly. Transfer the data to my PADD, Ellen. I'll look at it while I'm on-shift. Go get some rest."

"Yes, sir." She downloaded the info onto a PADD and gave it to him before leaving the Bridge. He settled into the command chair with it as the lift doors hissed again to admit Lieutenant T'Pol.

"Commander," the Vulcan greeted with a nod.

"Good morning, Lieutenant. Did you rest well?" Travis asked. T'Pol had regained her normal, serene demeanor; he'd worried about her after the strange mental assault she'd suffered nearly two weeks before. So far, there didn't seem to be any lasting side effects.

"I did indeed." She slid into the helm chair and brought up a status report. "It was a rather uneventful evening. I spent the time in meditation."

Travis fought a smile. As astronomer wouldn't have called it "uneventful", but it was all a point-of-view. He brought his attention back to his PADD. A series of chimes over the intercom announced the shift change from Delta to Alpha. Travis bade good bye to the Delta crew as the Alpha shift took their places. He noted it into the ship's log.

Midway through the shift, Commander Phlox called from Engineering. "Phlox to Mayweather."

Travis hit the comm. "Go ahead, Phlox."

"I've run a routine diagnostic on the warp engines and there's a slight drop in power output."

"Confirmed, sir," said Ensign Wu from the engineering station on the Bridge.

Travis frowned. Any drop in power, especially this close to a brown dwarf, was a worrying thing. "How much of a drop?"

"Three percent. Not enough to compromise any major systems. We can adjust easily enough."

"What caused it?"

"Unknown, but it may be a minor malfunction in the EPS grid. We're still working out the insects."

Travis grinned and tried not to laugh as T'Pol swung around in her seat with her eyebrow raised up to her hairline. "Bugs, Phlox," he said.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Working out the bugs."

Phlox chuckled at the correction. "Ah, thank you. In any case, I'll run another Level One Diagnostic as soon as we've balanced the energy flow."

Travis nodded, although Phlox couldn't see him. He trusted the Denobulan to take care of things. "All right, Phlox. Keep me updated."

"I certainly will, Commander. Phlox, out."

T'Pol's questioning look hadn't wavered one bit. "Human expressions are confusing. It will take both Commander Phlox and I some time to decipher their meanings."

"Our vernacular may be odd, but you'll get used to it." He thought about Trip Tucker and his colorful use of said vernacular. In that case, both Phlox and T'Pol were in for some surprises.

"I am uncertain if I will ever 'get used to it'."

He shook his head and replied, "Give it time, Lieutenant. Give it time."

*****

Captain Hoshi Sato sat at the computer in her quarters, reading Starfleet reports as she sipped her morning tea. The _C_olumbia was completing Starfleet's formal contact with the Saurians. Hoshi chuckled at Captain Matt Hayes's official log entries. He'd also sent her his 'off the record' account of what happened; the introduction of Saurian Brandy had nearly caused a diplomatic incident.

"Tell Trip that good Kentucky bourbon is not the equivalent of a fair trade, as far as the Saurians are concerned. How was I to know that the Saurian chief was allergic to something in the bourbon? Luckily Rosie was able to neutralize the agent that was causing it---him?---trouble. Then the chief decided Nate Kemper's entire stock of Guinness was ample compensation for nearly killing him. Kemper's pissed about it...he wasn't expecting to lose his entire stash in less than a month."

Hoshi laughed at the humor in Matt's voice. "Rosie" was Matt's Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Rosie Arroyo, one of Malcolm's colleagues. Major Nathan Kemper was Trip Tucker's counterpart on _Columbia_. She could imagine the fit that Kemper had thrown at the loss of his beer.

"Anyway, we're headed to the Kapella system. Hopefully, we won't have to deal with drunk dinosaurs with tails the length of my arm. Everyone says hi, and hope to hear from you soon. Take care, Hoshi. I love you. Hayes, out."

She smiled and popped the comm chip out of its slot. Hoshi opened her desk drawer and place it with a stack of similar chips, tied in a neat bundle. She and Matt sent each other "letters" like these whenever they were on different assignments. It was a way to keep in touch during long deployments like this one. Hoshi sighed; it was going to be a long five years.

"Tucker to Sato."

She touched the comm button. "Sato."

"This is your five-minute ticker, Cap'n. Phase Pistol evals in the Armory at 0900."

Hoshi glanced at her chronometer which read 0855. "Thanks, Trip, I'll be right there."

"See you in five, Tucker out."

Hoshi chuckled and shut down her computer. Trip took those phase pistol evals seriously. The Armory Officer was as methodical in his domain as Phlox was in engineering or Malcolm Reed was in Sickbay. She shook her head. Of course, the Captain had to set a good example for her crew, and you never knew when a lucky shot could save your life.

* * *

When she stepped into the Armory, she was surprised to see Malcolm going through the holosimulation. Her CMO was the last person she'd expected to go through phase pistol training, but she was pleasantly surprised that he'd taken the initiative. Trip stood nearby and monitored Malcolm's progress.

"Time."

Malcolm glanced at him. "How was it?"

"Pretty good. Seventy-six percent." Trip raised an eyebrow. "No offense, but I didn't expect to see this kinda result from a medic. 'Do no harm' and all that."

Malcolm snorted good-naturedly. "My father designs weapons for Her Majesty's Navy. He wanted to make sure I could defend myself if need be." He shrugged and added, "And as a doctor, I know where to shoot to minimize the damage."

"Good point. Didn't think of it that way. Do no harm and all that." Trip nodded as he accepted the phase pistol. "Your dad sounds like a smart guy."

"I believe you two might get along, if you ever meet."

"Really? I've been reading up on some of his designs. Maybe we could have a chat on the subspace channel sometime? It'd be nice to talk to someone who knows the difference between an EM generator and a phase coil."

Malcolm laughed and shook his head. "Perhaps." He spotted Hoshi and nodded at her, his tone becoming more formal. "Captain."

"Good morning, Malcolm." She nodded back, but a part of her wished he wouldn't close himself off whenever she entered the room. He seemed to relax around a very few people, and Trip looked like one of them. She looked at Trip and asked in a humorous tone, "I assume he passes?"

"Sure did. I'm glad that I have to worry less about the CMO bein' able to defend himself. Makes my job a lot easier," he answered with a bright grin.

The doctor chuckled. "I try to. Now, if you would stay out of my Sickbay for more than just a few days at a time---"

"Believe me, Doc, I'm doin' my best. It's an occupational hazard."

"At least, try to cut down on the frequency of your visits, if you can."

"Can't make any promises, Doc. You know that."

Hoshi chuckled as Malcolm rolled his eyes to the ceiling, as if praying for guidance. "How's Kov settling in, Malcolm?"

"He's doing well. I've briefed him on procedures and he seems to be adjusting. He and Phlox are planning some sort of joint project, something about the study of Human customs---"

Trip winced and groaned, "Aw, God, Cap'n, you can't imagine the kind of questions the two of 'em have asked me already! Phlox ambushed me here in the Armory and asked about all sorts of stuff, including things you don't usually talk about in polite company! I think Graves damn near died of embarrassment when he asked her about her preferences for a mate...in all situations."

Hoshi waggled her eyebrows at him. "So, they're curious."

"Curious and blunt like no one's business. It'll be a miracle if Kov and Phlox get enough info without someone bein' offended." Trip exchanged the discharged pistol for a new one, which he handed to Hoshi. "Okay, whenever you're ready."

She adjusted her grip and her stance. "Ready."

"Go."

Hoshi fired at the holographic targets as they zipped around the Armory. The first run went well, and so did the second, but she wasn't prepared for what happened on the third. She fired at the target, but the beam went wide. Hoshi frowned and tried again. This time, the beam appeared to bend in mid-air, as if it had hit, and reflected, off an invisible mirror.

"Stop." Trip narrowed his eyes at the readings on his PADD. "What the hell kinda trick was that?"

She shook her head, mystified. "I don't know. I wasn't trying to be fancy."

"Maybe we oughta try that again." He reset the simulation. "Go."

Hoshi began again. This time, the beam bounced off the far wall, reflected off the ceiling, and went in the opposite direction of where it should have gone. Both Trip and Malcolm involuntarily ducked as it shot over their heads. If it had been a live beam, it would have singed Trip's hair.

"What the---" he exploded.

"You all right?" Hoshi asked. She flipped the safety on the phase pistol; they couldn't afford an accident with a faulty phase pistol.

"Yeah, fine." He glanced at Malcolm. "At least I know you saw it too, so I don't have to get my eyes checked."

Hoshi scowled. "Maybe it's the phase pistol, or the simulation itself."

"It worked for Malcolm, and for the six other people I tested this mornin'." Trip sighed. "I'll check it anyway, just to make sure, though. I'd hate to think our equipment's already breaking down less than a month out of Spacedock."

"Have Phlox look at it too. If it's an equipment malfunction, he could pinpoint the problem and fix it."

"Yes, Cap'n." Trip blew out a frustrated breath and ran his hand through his short-cropped hair. "In any case, you've done well enough to pass for this time out, so you won't have to go through another trial."

"Thanks, Trip." She handed him the pistol. "Let me know when you find the problem."

"Will do." He nodded at her and Malcolm, then climbed the ladder to the upper deck of the Armory. Hoshi sighed as she watched him go.

"It's probably an odd blip in the simulation. I'm sure it will be corrected soon."

Hoshi nodded. "I'm headed for my Ready Room on the Bridge. Are you going to Sickbay?" At his return nod, she went on, "Lunch at thirteen hundred, Captain's Mess?"

He seemed surprised at the invitation, but he hid it under a smile. "I'd be delighted to join you for lunch, Captain."

"I'll see you then." She left the Armory without a backward glance, and Malcolm followed, heading for Sickbay on E Deck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Is it really just equipment malfunctioning, or is something else the cause?**

**Hoshi and Malcolm encounter an alien intruder on the ship that doesn't seem very friendly. A little bit of R/S in this chapter. (Yes, in this universe, Hoshi Sato and Matt Hayes are supposed to be together. Sort of. Until she meets a certain Englishman...LOL!)**

**Eventual Pairings: R/S, TnT**

**Rating: T**

**Please R&R, thanks.

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**

**Two**

Travis finished reading the daily reports on his PADD, then he took out a stylus and began making notes in the margins. Granted, it was old-fashioned, but he enjoyed the feel of writing on the smooth surface. _The personal touch_, as his mother put it. The rest of the crew thought it was a charming habit, and some of the other department heads had began to do the same with the drafts of their own reports. He could already decipher Trip Tucker's scrawl from Hoshi Sato's elegant cursive and T'Pol's block print. The easiest to read was Doctor Malcolm Reed's handwriting, which struck Travis as odd, for he had always thought all doctors had lousy handwriting. Malcolm didn't.

His PADD buzzed once and the screen changed. "What the---?" Travis found himself looking at a list in Denobulan script. "Um...Lieutenant Commander Archer, I think I got Commander Phlox's mail by mistake."

"What? The daily comms haven't arrived from Echo Two yet. Are you sure?" Archer tapped his board and checked the ship's internal frequencies. He frowned as he turned to address Travis again. "Internal communications are running normally. Let me see your PADD."

Travis got out of the command chair, went over to Jon, and handed over the PADD. After a few moments, Jon shook his head. "I don't see anything wrong with it. Maybe it's just a glitch."

He stifled a groan of dismay. "It's one heck of glitch because I've lost some of the daily reports."

"I can pull up some copies and transmit them to your PADD, Commander. You'll lose anything you're currently working on, but---"

Travis winced again, but he reassured him, "That's okay. I'll live. Thanks, Lieutenant Commander."

"No problem, Travis." Jon turned back to his board and uploaded the reports from the ship's databanks. "There, that should do it---"

Travis narrowed his eyes as Jon's frown deepened at something on his console. It was the exact expression he'd seen on his father's face whenever something went haywire on the _Horizon_, the family cargo ship. "Now what's wrong?"

"The Universal Translator's gone off-line. That's strange; I just installed some new protocols on it and now it's set back to the default. It shouldn't have done that."

"Maybe there are a few bugs in the ship's systems that need to be worked out. This is our maiden voyage, after all." Travis's words were reassuring, but his expression was skeptical. _Enterprise_ was the first NX-class ship to be built and launched by United Earth Space Administration and Starfleet. An equipment breakdown less than a month out of spacedock certainly didn't imply good things about them.

Jon made a face as he replied, "Maybe, or we've got a pack of wild sehlats in the conduits somewhere."

Lieutenant T'Pol raised her eyebrow and turned toward them. "Wild sehlats would find the atmosphere within the ship's conduit system to be quite uncomfortable, not to mention...aromatic."

Jon chuckled and shook his head. "A figure of speech, T'Pol. In any case, I'm going to have to redo the upgrades from scratch. It'll take me five or six hours, if I can get help."

Travis sighed. This was getting better and better. "Get whatever help you need. In the meantime, I'll let Phlox know we're having trouble with some of the ship's systems---"

And on cue, the lights began to flicker on and off, screens faded to black, and the main viewer winked out for a brief second. Travis swore under his breath and hit the comm button on the command chair. "Engineering!"

"Power drop to the Main Bridge," came Commander Phlox's voice from the speakers. "Switching to back-up power generators...now." The lights came back on and the Bridge's computers roared back to life. "Commander Mayweather?"

The crew confirmed that everything was back to normal. Travis nodded and answered, "We're okay up here, Phlox. What happened? That power drop was a lot more than the first one."

"Indeed; that was closer to fifteen percent. I will need to run diagnostics on the EPS grid and a visual inspection of the power conduits on A and B Decks."

"How long will that take?"

"At least six or seven hours. I would suggest we also take the warp core off-line for the meantime, at least until we can get the power flow problems solved. The last thing we need is a surge that could burn out our warp core."

Travis didn't have Hoshi's talent for languages, but he could swear in several different trade-tongues and he did, silently. "Go ahead, Phlox, but don't leave it too cold. If that dying sun we're observing decides to do more than just hiccup, we might need to get out of here in a hurry."

"Understood, Phlox out."

Travis glanced over at T'Pol. "Plot us a nice, wide course around Keshwa, Lieutenant, that still allows us to get the maximum amount of interstellar data. If it's affecting the ship's systems, I don't want to hang around it too long. The safety of the crew's more important."

She nodded in agreement. "Yes, Commander."

He looked back at Jon. "Find the captain and get her up here."

* * *

Hoshi glanced at the clock in the Captain's Mess. Twelve-fifty five. Five minutes until lunch with Malcolm, then she planned to relieve Travis in time for the shift change from Alpha to Beta at 1400. She made it a point to have a meal with at least one of her senior staff during the first few weeks of their new mission. Travis, of course, as her First and Science Officer. Phlox, Jon and Trip. The only two people she hadn't had a chance yet were Malcolm and T'Pol.

_And Kov. She liked the young Vulcan doctor, thrown into a situation not of his own making, but doing the best of it. She was glad of Malcolm's promise to watch over him; Kov and T'Pol already had fundamental differences in temperment and attitude. Hoshi hoped it wouldn't be a problem._

The doors opened and Malcolm came in. "Captain?"

"Have a seat, Malcolm. This is an informal lunch, so no ranks here. Call me Hoshi."

He looked uncomfortable at that, but nodded as he took a seat. "Hoshi, then. Thank you for inviting me to lunch."

"You're welcome." She signaled her steward, Crewman Cunningham, to take their orders for lunch. Once that was done, she steered the conversation toward Sickbay and Kov, then to his experiences at the Vulcan Medical Academy in Shi'Kahr. As they talked, she got the impression that he was dedicated to his profession, so dedicated that he sometimes forgot about his own needs. He'd grown up in a military family, and his father, Admiral Stuart Reed, worked in Her Majesty's Defense Ministry.

"Why medicine? I understand your father would have wanted you to follow in his footsteps."

Malcolm raised a sardonic eyebrow. "He would have, most definitely, but he discovered early on that we were of different temperaments and attitudes. I learned self-defense and how to shoot—we both did, my sister and I---but my interests took a different turn." He paused to take a sip of water. "There had been an accidental explosion at a firing range. Maddie and I happened to be there, and we both assisted the medical personnel in caring for the injured. That was the start of it for me."

"How old were you at the time?"

"Ah...nine years old. Maddie is the elder by three years, so she would've been twelve."

"And you knew you wanted to be a doctor at nine years old?"

"Pretty much." He chuckled and shrugged lightly. "Father didn't take it well at first...eldest son, family tradition, and all that. I pointed out that it takes skill to destroy, but just as complicated a skill to put back together. Eventually, he unbent a little bit."

Hoshi shook her head and smiled. "How long did that take?"

"Well, I was in my third year of medical school at Cambridge at the time, so sixteen, seventeen years." Malcolm grinned at her laughter. "Funnily enough, my sister decided to go her own way as well. She's a museum curator, at the Tate in London."

"Your father must have had an apoplectic fit."

"Not quite, though it came very close. My mother, bless her, is the sane one of we Reeds." Malcolm finished his salad and started on the pasta. "I'm close to her, and Maddie to my father. We all get along, though. More or less."

Hoshi shook her head. Who would have known that her chief medical officer had a genuine warmth under that dry wit? She had the distinct feeling he didn't show that side of him to many people, and felt privledged to see it.

The lights in the Captain's Mess flickered briefly before they failed completely. She muttered some choice words in Old English as she hit the intercom. "Sato to the Bridge. Commander Mayweather, what's going on?" There was no answer. "Malcolm, you okay?"

"I'm fine, Captain, but there might be people who might need our help."

She got up and slowly made her way to her door, which had opened part way for her. She grabbed one side, Malcolm the other, and they pulled until they managed to make an opening wide enough for them to slip through. The red emergency lights bathed the Mess Hall in an eerie glow.

"Cunningham?"she shouted.

"Here, Captain!" The steward was at the door of the galley, taking a head count of everyone in the Mess. "No one's hurt, just startled. Lucky Chef wasn't slicing and dicing when the lights went out."

"Good. Everyone stay where they are while Doctor Reed and I find out what's going on."

"No arrgument from here, Captain." Other voices chimed their agreement as she and Malcolm managed to find the main door. Two engineering crewmen helped them pry it open and they slipped into the corridor.

"Crewman Manetti, is everyone all right?"

"We're okay, ma'am," Manetti answered, with the quiet confidence of one of Trip's Security men. "Comms are down---"

"We need to make sure we don't have people lying injured," Malcolm told him. "Do a door-by-door sweep of this deck, Mister Manetti. Ensign Payne, we need someone to alert Doctor Kov in Sickbay---"

"Captain Sato!" Crewman Ivanovich shouted as he pointed further down the hall. "What is that?"

A faint shadow passed by the turbolift. At first, Hoshi thought it was merely an illusion from the alert lights, but it stopped at Ivanovich's shout, reversed its direction, and approached them at high speed.

"Down!" Malcolm yelled. He pulled Hoshi down, protecting her with his own body. Everyone else dropped to the deck as the shadow swooped over their heads. It hit the far bulkhead, went through it, and disappeared. A minute later, the lights came back on as if nothing strange had happened.

"Bridge to Captain Sato. Captain Sato, report to the Bridge. Doctor Reed, medical assistance needed in Engineering. Doctor Kov, medical assistance needed in Cargo Bay Three. Acknowledge, please."

Hoshi lay there for a minute, stunned. Gradually, she became aware of Malcolm's breathing in her ear, his weight on her, and felt her cheeks flame with...embarrassment? _Oh for God's sake, don't even go there. He's your chief medical officer! _

"Captain?"

"I'll all right." He offered her a hand and pulled her up to her feet. She dove for the comm and smacked the button with her hand. "Acknowledged, Commander Mayweather. I'm on my way." She nodded at Manetti and Ivanovich and added, "As soon as we figure out what's going on, we'll let the crew know."

"Yes, ma'am," both men chorused and went on their way.

Hoshi headed for the nearest access ladder; she didn't quite trust the lifts, even with the power restored, and the last thing she wanted was to be trapped in a tight, enclosed space. She pushed the dread to a corner of her brain as she began her long ascent.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Kov responds to his first shipboard crisis and makes an unlikely friend. Malcolm and Phlox encounter the life form and finds out why it's on board _Enterprise_.**

**Eventual Pairings: R/S, TnT**

**Rating: T**

**Please R&R, thanks.

* * *

**

**Three**

Kov, son of Kuvak, would never have dreamed about serving on a Terran starship. He had been more than willing to go into Exile with his fellow Vulcans. In fact, he had looked at it as a reprieve from the veiled looks and remarks he'd endured his entire life. Instead, fate put him here. He resigned himself to simply make the best of what he was given.

"Cargo Bay Two is this way, Doctor," said Lieutenant Liz Cutler. She pointed in the right direction. "Over to your right."

"Yes, thank you, Lieutenant," he replied gratefully. _This ship is a maze! I'll never find my way around here. _ All of his misgivings vanished as the cargo bay doors opened and he saw injured crewman on the deck. Kov hurried to the nearest patient's side. "What has happened?"

"Anti-grav sled collapsed when the power went out. One of the crates tumbled off and hit him on the head." The crewman looked close to tears himself; he was young, so painfully young. "I think it was just a glancing blow, but those crates are heavy."

Kov nodded as his fingers gently probed the man's skull. His Healing training emphasized the possibility of not having electronic scanners at hand to make a diagnosis. Nevertheless, he gave the injury a once-over with his scanner, just to be sure.

"He has a concussion. How long has he been unconscious?"

"Several minutes. I tried to keep him awake, but I couldn't do it."

"He needs to be in Sickbay. Crewman---forgive me, I don't know your name---"

"Tesserby, sir."

"Crewman Tesserby, keep an eye on him. Make sure his airway is clear. I will attempt to find a way to transport him to Sickbay."

"Yes, sir."

Kov convinced two other men to help Tesserby carry the unfortunate man to Sickbay. Without power, they could not use a grav-sled. He went from person to person, administering to cuts and bruises and making sure everyone was accounted for. The quartermaster had a broken ankle; Liz used whatever she could find to splint it. Kov was impressed at her ingenuity in a crisis situation.

"I will help you, Chief Dierna. Please, remain still." He swung a startled Chief Dierna into his arms; the chief was at least five inches taller than Kov, but Kov's Vulcan strength was more than enough to carry him.

"Ah...this isn't necessary, Doctor---"

"On the contrary, Chief, you cannot walk on that broken ankle, and I cannot treat it here. Logic dictates that I transport you to Sickbay in the fastest possible manner. Please do not worry; it will be all taken care of." His matter-of-fact tone brought smiles and a few chuckles from the rest of the Cargo Bay crew as Chief Dierna flushed scarlet in embarassment. True to his word, Kov walked out of the Cargo Bay as quickly as he could.

Crewman Gray bit his lip as he turned to Liz Cutler. "You do realize the Chief's never gonna live this down?"

Liz smirked and answered, "I know."

* * *

"It's not too bad, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Crewman Reitman, do you need assistance to get to Sickbay, or can you walk?"

"I'm pretty sure I can walk, Doc---" Reitman tried to get to his feet and promptly sat down on the deck again. "At least, I think I can."

Malcolm clucked his tongue and shook his head. "Lieutenant Kelby, will you help me?"

Richard Kelby nodded as he and Malcolm guided Reitman back on his feet. After a quick discussion with the medical corpsman, Malcolm sent them on their way. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

"Not a problem, Doctor---" Kelby broke off as a shadow flickered on the upper Engineering deck. "What was that?"

Lieutenant Anna Hess pointed at a corner of the catwalk. "Over there, near the secondary EPS modulators!"

Phlox reached over to the intercom. "Security to Engineering---"

"The coms are dead, Commander," Ensign Mike Rostov interrupted from the other side of the deck."I tried to page Lieutenant Commander Tucker. Nothing's getting through."

"Don't move, Anna," Phlox warned. "It doesn't appear to notice you are there, but if you move---"

Hess nodded shakily, her blue eyes fixed on the shadow that hovered off the deck less than twenty meters away from her. It appeared vaguely humanoid, but its features were obscured, as if someone had taken a giant rubber eraser and smudged the details. It didn't touch the EPS modulators, but a thin black thread snaked its way through the air and attached itself to the console.

"What's it doing?" Kelby whispered hoarsely.

"It appears to be draining energy directly from the EPS grid," Phlox murmured. "Power drops all over the ship. We have to get whatever it is away from the modulators before it drains us completely."

Malcolm had his medical scanner in his hand and was taking readings of the entity. He frowned as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. _Bloody hell, it's as if it isn't even there, like there's a huge hole and the energy's flowing into it..._The tendril that was attached to the modulators began to vibrate and pulse like a violin string plucked by an invisible bow, yet it was strangely silent.

"It's moving away from the modulators," Hess reported, her tone eerily calm, "heading toward the starboard side."

"Commander, power levels are back to normal," Rostov echoed from the status board. "It's stopped siphoning off energy from us."

The shadow halted, then seemed to turn and "look" at the various members of the crew. Malcolm shivered as it lingered on him; it felt like some creature had reached out and grazed his skin with claws of ice. If the being had a mouth, it would have been twisted into a cruel smile.

_What are you? Why are you doing this? _Malcolm hadn't expected an answer and it gave him none. Instead, it simply gathered itself and went through the bulkhead, disappearing quickly.

Utter silence fell in Engineering. Finally, Phlox whispered, "What was that?"

Malcolm shook his head. "I don't know, Commander, but whatever it is, its intentions are definitely not friendly."

* * *

Hoshi held an emergency staff meeting in the Conference Room on D deck. She listened to Phlox's and Malcolm's description of the sighting in Engineering, and Travis's issues on the Bridge. Trip told the others about the incident in the Armory that morning; T'Pol's eyebrow lifted clear to her hairline at his words. Kov simply looked bewildered at it all.

"Has there been any more sightings of this...entity?" she asked.

Trip shook his head and replied, "No, but I've got Security teams stationed at all critical areas of the ship, including Engineering, the Armory and Sickbay. Whatever it is, it isn't here to borrow a cup of sugar."

Hoshi saw movement from her right and saw Phlox's grim expression, which looked out of place on the Denobulan. If Phlox was concerned, it was a serious matter. "Indeed, Lieutenant Commander Tucker. My Engineering staff and Doctor Reed watched it as it siphoned off energy directly from the the EPS grid. If it manages to drain the ship's power below a critical level, then we will be in dire trouble."

"Think we can talk to it? Get it to leave us alone?" Travis asked.

"I had the distinct feeling it wasn't inclined to listen," Malcolm answered in a quiet voice. "It simply took what it wanted and left."

"I concur," Phlox said. "It had no interest in the people in Engineering, only the EPS grid."

Hoshi narrowed her eyes as she thought over their options. Then she asked, "Trip, is there any way to reconfigure the internal sensors to track this?"

He nodded. "We should have some record of its energy signature from the security cameras in Engineering. It shouldn't be too difficult."

"Do it. I want to know the minute it shows up on the ship again." She glanced at Jon, who'd been quiet all this time. "Lieutenant Commander Archer?"

Jon frowned; since she'd addressed him by rank, he knew she wanted the opinion of her comm officer, not the diplomat. "I was just thinking...Travis, Keshwa is still outputting a lot of energy on its own, right?"

"Yes, and it'll keep doing it for a long time, in the form of gamma rays and other spectral radiation. Just because it's contracting doesn't mean it's dead. Yet." His last three words brought out groans from Jon, Hoshi, Trip and Malcolm, and baffled looks from T'Pol and Phlox.

"Then why isn't it getting its energy from Keshwa? Why latch onto our EPS grid?" Jon continued. "It's got a source of available fuel right there."

"I dunno. Maybe it doesn't like the taste?" Trip mused.

"Maybe," Travis said. "It could be the changes in the star isn't suitable for its needs anymore, like milk that's gone sour. What do you do? Go find a fresh source of milk."

T'Pol's brow wrinkled in confusion, then Kov leaned over and explained the analogy to her. She nodded once, then said, "Then perhaps if we find a viable star of a similar type and class in a nearby sector, it may find it more to its liking and leave our ship."

"That sounds like a plan, Lieutenant." Hoshi quickly brought the meeting to a close. "Travis, find that star. Trip, I still want you to reconfigure the internal sensors. Keep Security on standby and ready to react at a moment's notice."

"Yes, ma'am," Travis and Trip chorused, and T'Pol nodded in agreement.

"Phlox, keep a close eye on the engines and the EPS grid. The last thing I want to happen is to completely lose power so close to a dying star.."

"Of course. I will be quite vigilant, Captain."

"Malcolm, Kov, I want Sickbay prepared for any eventuality. Jon, transcribe our logs and records into an emergency buoy for Starfleet. I hope we won't have to launch it, but if anything happens, I want Admiral Forrest to know what's going on. Lady and gentlemen, dismissed."

Everyone scattered to their respective duties, but Malcolm stayed behind. Kov raised a questioning eyebrow, but he waved a hand and called, "I'll be there in a moment, lad." Kov nodded and left the room.

Hoshi raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "Is there something wrong, Malcolm?"

He hesitated for a moment before raising his eyes to meet hers. "May I confide something to you that may be pertinent to our situation?"

She frowned at his words. "Why didn't you bring it up during the meeting?"

"Because it's something that I cannot quantify or prove with hard data. It was what I felt from the entity while I was in Engineering with Commander Phlox."

Hoshi gazed at him, then nodded. "Go on."

"It felt like an endless black hole, cold and unfeeling, and all the energy from the EPS grid couldn't warm it one bit. I swear, it turned and looked at me---though it had no eyes---and if it had a mouth, it would have worn a cruel smile. I've never felt anything like it."

She met his gaze, but said nothing, and Malcolm held his breath. Finally, she said, "So you think it's definitely hostile."

"That was my impression, yes."

"In that case, we need to find a way to get it off this ship as soon as we can." She nodded slightly at him. "Thank you, Malcolm."

"You're welcome, Captain." He sighed in relief. "I should return to Sickbay."

"Of course." As he turned to leave, she interrupted, "Just one thing---"

"Captain?"

"If you...feel this thing again, let me know."

He nodded. "The very minute, Captain."

The doors closed behind him, and Hoshi stared at them long after he had left. She thought about what he'd said and shivered despite herself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Travis reveals something about his academic background. The crew finds itself in a dire situation, but Malcolm does something unorthodox that saves them.**

**Eventual Pairings: R/S, TnT**

**Rating: T**

**Please R&R, thanks.**

**

* * *

**

**Four**

"I think I've found a star suitable for our purposes, Captain."

Hoshi glanced up from the viewscreen and looked at her. "What've you got, Commander?"

Travis tapped his controls and her screen lit up with the information. "Yamara's a supergiant, type A2-1a , 1.6 solar mass, 1.8 solar radii, 20 on the luminosity scale, strong hydrogen lines, temperature 8500 Kelvin..." As he rattled off other bits of astronomical data, Hoshi caught Trip's expression from the Tactical station.

Trip had a look of awed bemusement on his face. Travis sensed it and glanced over his left shoulder at him. "What?"

"Wow. I couldn't decipher that code even if you paid me to." That remark brought a grin from Jon at the Communications station and a chuckle from Hoshi. "You got a Ph.D in astronomy, Travis?"

"From the University of Alpha Centauri, and working on one in astrophysics from McKinley University on Luna," Travis replied in a distracted voice.

Jon blinked in surprise and T'Pol looked at him with an expression of newfound respect, Hoshi grinned a Trip's mouth fell open. Travis hardly noticed their various reactions.

Hoshi reviewed the star's specs. "It's-what?-eighteen hours away at warp three?"

"Eighteen point three five hours, Captain," T'Pol said.

Shee nodded in approval and said, "All right, plot the quickest way to get there, Lieutenant, just in case we have to get there in a hurry."

"Yes, Captain." She turned to do just that, but her console only buzzed in response. "Captain, helm is unresponsive. We are drifting."

"Stabilize our position, thrusters only."

"Compensating." T'Pol's hands danced over her console. "We are still being pulled by the brown dwarf's gravitational field; I am adjusting our position to slow our drift."

Hoshi pounced on the comm. "Engineering!"

Phlox responded, but his voice was distorted by static. "Power is down thirty-two percent, but only certain systems are affected---"

"Navigation, helm control, wrap drive, impulse, external communications, our shields are down to thirty percent---" Trip confirmed, all business again. "Life support is unaffected---" The ship shuddered abruptly, then pitched hard to starboard. He grabbed the edge of his board, as bodies went flying over the Bridge. T'Pol didn't; it was as if she was glued to her seat.

"Our orbit around the star is deteriorating, Captain."

"How long until we're caught in Keshwa's gravity well?"

"At this rate of acceleration, twenty minutes."

Travis swore under his breath as he did his calculations. "The radiation will kill us faster that that. T'Pol, if we can angle our descent another five degrees, we could buy ourselves some more time."

T'Pol nodded and tapped her controls. "Done, Commander. Our descent has slowed, but not ceased entirely. I will need to make constant corrections."

"Do it." Travis scowled at a reading on his board. "Watch that stellar debris. And I'm detecting a build-up of gamma rays. I think the star's about to blow off some steam, and our drift will put us right in the middle of it!"

Trip stiffened at something on his console, then muttered, "There you are, you bastard---"

"Our energy-draining 'guest'?" Hoshi asked grimly, as she turned to face him.

"Yeah, it's on E Deck, halfway between Sickbay and the upper level of Engineering, but it isn't moving. It must be tapping into a port there."

Travis interrupted, "That's a major power conduit connecting the two. If Doctor Reed was running any medical equipment, it won't work, and it'll explode once the energy back-up floods the circuit. It could take out the entire deck."

"Phlox, can you engage the failsafes leading into Sickbay?" Trip cut in.

Phlox's voice was even more distorted, but they all understood him. "I'll have to do it manually; remote failsafes aren't functioning properly."

"I'm gonna meet you there with a security team. Tucker, out." He glanced over at Hoshi. "You stay put, Captain. If the grid overloads, I don't want you anywhere near it."

She bit back a retort. He was right; she was the captain, and she had no business putting herself in danger. But there were people on E Deck, including the ones in Sickbay, the Mess Hall, the upper deck on Engineering..._and it won't matter if we get sucked into the star or get hit by a wave of stellar radiation._

"Jon, send a intraship announcement and tell all nonessential personnel to evacuate E Deck." She nodded at Trip to go ahead; he ran to the lift and disappeared into it. Jon's message echoed on the intraship channels and she knew her crew would leave as directed, except possibly one. If Malcolm had any patients in Sickbay who couldn't be moved, he would stay with them.

"Keep track of our guest, Travis. If it moves, I want to know about it. T'Pol, keep us from being pulled in, however way you can. "

"Yes, ma'am." Travis quietly activated a side program he'd been working on, one that would analyze the energy signature of their unwelcome visitor and formulate a possible counter to it. He kept a close eye on the internal scanner feeds from his station's link with Tactical.

_Who are you and why are you doing this?_

_

* * *

_

Malcolm Reed was asking the same question. The Sickbay doors refused to open, and a second later, the entire room was plunged into darkness. He made his way across to his office mostly by touch, and fumbled for the emergency torch in his desk drawer. His fingers brushed against it, and he activated it, breathing a sigh of relief at the cone of light.

"Doctor Reed?" called Lieutenant Elizabeth Cutler. The nurse's voice echoed eerily in the blackness.

"Here. Are you all right, Liz?"

"Yes, but we've lost all power. None of the equipment's working."

"Bloody hell. Kov?"

The Vulcan doctor still sounded shaky, but he replied, "It doesn't look like any of our patients are negatively affected, yet. I am monitoring Crewman Dwyer and Chief Dierna."

The quartermaster griped from the bed. "No need to babysit me, son. Tend to the others first."

"John, be quiet," Liz admonished him. "Kov, I need ten cc's of thamoseline---

"Right away, Lieutenant---" A popping noise interrupted him and the lights flickered. A panel behind the imaging chamber sparked briefly as a nearby computer fizzled with an unholy screech. The bank of lights over the counter burst in into a halo as the bulbs exploded.

Malcolm's reactions kicked in before his mind caught up with himself. He grabbed Liz and pulled her under the safety of the nearest worktable. They were showered with more sparks as other equipment were hit by the power surge. After several minutes, the emergency lights winked on and bathed the room in scarlet light. Cautiously, he peeked over the edge of the worktable, but it was silent.

"Everyone all right?"

Many voices answered him in the affirmative. Malcolm stabbed the intercom button with a finger. "Reed to the Bridge---"

Liz's eyes widened, then she said in a low, urgent voice, "Doctor, over there."

He looked to his right and saw the indistinct form hovering a few meters from the imaging chamber. It circled it slowly, as if curious, then extended a thin sliver of energy to the cylindrical piece of equipment. The line pulsed briefly, then the alien withdrew it, as if it was a towing cable after a successful dock. It straightened itself, and Malcolm thought it seemed brighter, more robust. The tentacle vibrated faster and this time, he could hear a distinct chiming noise in the background.

"Holy crap," breathed Dierna.

"Indeed," Kov whispered back.

Slowly, Malcolm reached for the medical kit on his belt and took out a scanner. Without taking his eyes off the entity, he activated it and set it to scan. It beeped quietly, but it didn't react.

"What's it doing?" Liz whispered. "It's not moving."

"I don't know," he whispered back. He didn't dare lower his guard, for he could feel the edge of hostility being focused directly on him, just like in Engineering. _Why are you doing this? Why won't you leave us alone?_

The being shifted slightly, as more screens above the imaging chamber went black. Malcolm jumped as another row of overhead lights blew out, and several pieces of stainless steel surgical tools went flying over his head, crashing against the opposite wall. Its humming noise increased into a high-pitched squeal, like a banshee, rising and dipping in time with its pulses.

"It's throwing a bloody temper tantrum!" Malcolm swore through gritted teeth. It reminded him of his sister Madeline as a child, who would put up such a fuss when she didn't get her way. Luckily, she outgrew that stage, but it seemed this entity was still in it.

Kov ducked to avoid a tray of equipment thrown at him. "Doctor---"

Malcolm managed to get to his feet and shouted, "That's enough! Stop it!"

The entity jerked as if he'd physically struck it, then let out a wail that nearly sounded human. It gathered itself and deliberately turned its back on them as it melted into the nearest bulkhead. Immediately, the lights came back on, and the Sickbay doors opened to reveal the dark corridor outside, illuminated only by the emergency lights. Malcolm recognized the tall form of Trip Tucker, followed by Phlox.

"You two all right?" Trip demanded. "The doors were stuck---"

"We're unharmed, though our visitor decided to have one hell of a temper tantrum before Doctor Reed yelled at it," Liz said.

Trip raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You yelled at it, Malcolm?"

"It was throwing scalpels and depressors around like toys around my Sickbay," he shot back, irritated. "I gave it a clear talking-to."

Phlox was already at the main power relays to Sickbay. Malcolm turned as some members of medical staff began to arrive with more injured crew. He, Kov and Liz immediately went into triage mode, while Trip contacted the Bridge.

"We've regained helm control when the entity left, and not a moment too soon," Hoshi said, "but navigation is still inoperative and every critical system's running below optimum."

"No offense to Travis, but I think gettin' out of this system's startin' to look better and better."

"So do I, but both warp and impulse engines are still out. We aren't going anywhere."

"Dammit."

"Travis managed to get some readings on it while it was preoccupied. Once he analyzes the results, we might be able to find a way to combat this thing. I'll let you know when he's done."

"Sounds good, Captain. Tucker out." He glanced at Phlox. "Phlox, how bad is it?"

The Denobulan clucked his tongue as he surveyed the damage. "We'll have to replace some of the failsafe circuitry from the EPS grid, but there doesn't seem to be anything we can't handle." Phlox nodded at Lieutenant Hess."Anna, get started on this right away. I'll need to get back to Engineering and see to the warp and impulse engines."

"Yes, Commander, right away."

Phlox glanced at Malcolm, who was listening to the exchange. "You were fortunate that I was able to manually redirect some of the energy from the surge, Doctor, or you, Doctor Kov and Lieutenant Cutler would be 'crispy cretins' by now."

Trip winced as Kov raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar expression. Malcolm smirked and asked, "Mister Tucker?"

"Uh, it's 'crispy critters', Phlox. 'Cretins' are an entirely different thing.".

Phlox brightened and nodded his gratitude at the correction. "Ah, thank you, Charles."

Malcolm took out his scanner and switched screens before giving it to Trip. "I took some readings of the entity while it was still here, both before and after I, ahem, yelled at it."

Trip nodded as he accepted it. "Travis will appreciate it. 'Kay, Doc, I'll let you do your job and I'll get to doin' mine. Oh, and remind me not to piss you off."

Malcolm's smirk grew a tad wider. "I will, especially around the time for your yearly physical, Mister Tucker."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Travis confronts the entity and gains an unexpected friend.**

**This is the last chapter of this short, First Contact piece. Thanks for reading!**

**Eventual Pairings: R/S, TnT**

**Rating: T**

**Please R&R, thanks.

* * *

**

**Five**

Travis took a deep breath and addressed the officers around the situation table at the back of the Bridge. He'd come closer to determining the origin of their energy-draining entity, but he still felt there was a missing piece somewhere. Nevertheless, he kept his focus on the here and now.

"I've compared the scans I took and the ones Doctor Reed took in Sickbay. What we're dealing with is a being that requires a certain type of energy to survive. My guess is that it had been more than content to use the Keshwa star for its needs, until it began to run out of stellar material for its fusion reaction. Its chemical composition's changed from the original star.. "

"Like you said, Travis, milk's gone sour and it's time to find a fresh supply," Trip put in.

Malcolm sighed and shook its head. "The ship's power is marginally better than what's out there right now, but not only does it does it require more with each 'feeding', it is progressively getting 'sicker' as it does so."

Hoshi frowned. "Sicker? You mean the ship's power isn't compatable with its needs?"

"It's quite like a person with a mild allergy to dairy having nothing to eat and drink but milk-based products." Malcolm winced at the analogy, but it was the best he could come up with. "Do you eat the dairy or starve to death? The food won't kill you outright, like someone who is deathly allergic to dairy, but one of two things would happen. Either your body eventually adapts, if it is given in small enough doses, or the buildup of toxins will eventually kill you."

She shook her head and said, "In this case, it's a big enough dose of energy and it's killing the...whatever it is."

"Precisely."

"Then why does it keep feeding off the ship, if it knows it'll die if it continues to do it?"

T'Pol raised an eyebrow at Hoshi's question. "Perhaps it is unaware of how its actions are complicating its own problem?"

Malcolm shook his head. "It seems to be fixated on the here and now and cannot think beyond that."

"Much like a child," Phlox said suddenly. All eyes turned to him as he explained, "This child has found food and shelter and is reluctant to give it up, so it holds on to it possessively, almost jealously."

Hoshi fought against a smile, despite the circumstances. "Reminds you of your own children, Phlox?"

His mouth quirked up in a smile in return. "After having five children, I've become aware of their certain ideosyncracies, Captain."

"A child," Malcolm murmured, "that threw a tantrum and sulked when an adult tried to discipline it."

Travis coughed; Malcolm's "disciplinary action" had made the rounds on the ship at warp ten, and the most recalitrant patients were tiptoeing around the chief medical officer. Sickbay was unusually placid for being in the middle of a crisis and even Trip Tucker refrained from making smart remarks around Malcolm.

Phlox's chuckled, then his smile faded. "Unfortunately, that reflexive action has stranded us here. We cannot afford another massive power drop, or we will be pulled into the white dwarf's gravitational field."

"So we have to find a way to get it through to this...child, that unless it allows us to take it to that other star that's similar to its home---what was it? Yamara?" At Travis's nod, Hoshi went on, "---we'll all die." She turned to Jon. "There's got to be a way to communicate with it. You and Travis noticed something in its energy pattern while it was feeding off the ship's EPS grid."

Jon nodded. "Its tentacle-or whatever you want to call it---vibrates in a series of pulses, like it's, well, humming or singing to itself. I've analyzed the vibrations caught by the sensors and Malcolm's scans. There's definitely a pattern."

"Can you program the UT to relay messages to it in the same way?"

"Already working on it. It's not exact, but I'm hoping it'll be enough to get our point across. Hoshi, I could use your help in constructing the main matrix."

"Just let me know what you need me to do and I'll do my best to help." She looked at everyone. "The safety of the ship and crew is our first priority. Let's do our jobs. Dismissed." They all left the situation table and headed for their respective stations. Hoshi joined Jon at the comm station and they worked together in programming the UT matrix, based on Jon's analyses. Malcolm glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled as he went into the lift.

Travis noticed it and raised his eyebrows. He glanced at T'Pol; her expression told him that she'd noticed it too. He shrugged and re-focused his attention on the problem at hand. He compared the readings between Yamara and the white dwarf's original composition. They were nearly identical, so if they could get the "kid" to Yamara...Travis's mouth twitched upwards at the thought of the entity as a two or three year old child, yet Phlox's description was apt.

_God help his kids._ It didn't surprise him that Malcolm would be such a disciplinarian. Travis shook his head; he wasn't being fair to the doctor. Under the no-nonsense attitude was a genuine concern for his patients' well-being. For some reason, he wondered how Hoshi would do as a mother, then he put aside the musings. The smile he'd seen Malcolm give her still nagged at him.

_Is there...? Naaah. Can't be. Besides, the captain's already been romantically linked with someone else off the ship, and she's too much of a professional to get involved with one of her officers under her command._ Travis shook his head. He'd only known her a few weeks, but that was already obvious to him. He dropped the thought and concentrated on their problem.

* * *

Three hours passed without incident, and gamma shift took over for beta shift. The senior officers elected to stay at their posts, at least until the crisis had passed. Their gamma shift personnel stayed close at hand in case they were needed. Travis put Crewman DeLorenzo to work in sifting through the data from the white dwarf; idle hands meant idle minds, as Travis's mom had said, and he tended to agree.

The lights flickered on and off, and Travis immediately went to the sensors. "Our friend's back, Captain."

"Where?" Hoshi demanded. She left Jon's side and eased herself into her command chair.

"Deck B, headed for the port side," Trip answered from his station. "Senior officer's quarters---"

The bridge lift to Travis's right exploded in a ring of sparks, and he saw the entity for the first time. It hovered several centimeters over the floor, a humanoid-shaped ripple with blurred features. It rotated slowly, as if taking in the sight of the Bridge, then it locked eyes with Travis. He found himself paralyzed to the spot, unable to move, as a thick cloud of fear came over him.

"Commander!" T'Pol shouted.

He thought directly at the creature. _I'm not afraid of you and you don't have to be afraid of me. _

It crept close to him, then went past him to the science computer. Another thin tendril unrolled itself and sank into the console barely five centimeters away from Travis's right arm. He felt a heightened tension in the air and smelled the sharp smell of ozone, like right before a lightning strike. The tentacle spasmed once, then it began to vibrate and change colors, emitting a series of tones as it did so.

_Music of the Spheres. It sounds like a symphony. This is _weird, he thought. Information sped across the screen on his left; the chemical composition of the white dwarf and of Yamara, the scientific scans he'd taken since their arrival here...he felt the panel above him burst into sparks and go dead, but he still couldn't move.

He saw Jon Archer from the corner of his eye, the UT in his hands, his fingers dancing across the buttons as he tried to match the vibrations with the UT's matrix. The entity raised its "head", but stayed where it was. Travis felt a definite gathering of energy now, like a cobra poising to attack its prey; he couldn't warn Jon no matter how hard he tried to move.

"That's enough. Let him go. Now."

The shadow reared back as if it had been slapped, and the musical notes became frenzied and chaotic. Hoshi's quiet command had disrupted its concentration; Travis felt his body drop to the floor as if he was a marionette with its strings cut. He struggled back into his chair as the entity "turned" towards Hoshi with an air of malevolence.

"Cap'n!" Trip shouted. He moved to step between her and the entity; it turned towards the Armory Officer with a sense of disdain. Hoshi only gazed at it, her dark brown eyes unwavering. Travis felt a shift in its emotions: curiosity, mixed with distrust.

_The captain stopped it from doing what it wants, like Doctor Reed in Sickbay, and it's reacting like any child, _Travis thought. Aloud, he said, "Hey, I wouldn't hurt her. She's the one who takes care of all of us, me included."

It turned to face him. He cleared his throat and said,. "I'm Commander Mayweather; she's Captain Sato. Who are you? Do you have a name?"

The UT chattered in a series of yowls and squeals for several seconds before Jon looked up with a surprised expression. "We got it, Travis. I think. It said it doesn't have a name; it's never needed one."

"Makes sense," Travis said mildly. He nodded and asked, "Can I call you Musica? Your vibrations remind me of beautiful notes. That OK?"

Jon took a deep breath and manipulated the UT. The answer brought a small smile to his face. "It---She---said that was acceptable."

"She?" Trip echoed. "It's a girl?"

More notes spilled out, minor chords clashing, and Jon could hardly keep up with the translation. "She knows she's sick, she needs warmth, comfort, light. She doesn't understand what is happening to her and to her bright light. She needs warmth to survive, this is the closest she can find, but it's making her sick. She feels closed in, trapped, angry---"

"Musica, we can find you another source of warmth, one that won't make you sick, but you have to trust us. We can take you there, but it won't be possible unless you release our controls to the ship." Travis took a deep breath and chose his words carefully. "Will you trust us?"

Its chimes became uncertain; Jon translated, "Will you hurt me?"

Hoshi spoke up in a gentle voice. "No, but each time you drain our power, you hurt us. Let us take you where you need to go, and you will be well again."

Travis added, "You've accessed my scans and all the information from my computer. The new star isn't too far from here. Musica, trust us."

It hovered for a moment before withdrawing its tendril from the science console. The Bridge lights came back on. T'Pol nodded and reported, "I have full navigational control."

Phlox's voice echoed from the speakers. "Captain, both impulse and warp engines are back on-line."

Ensign Murdo added from the comm station, "Commander Archer, all relays are functioning normally."

Hoshi inclined her head at Musica. "Thank you," she said softly. "Now we can fulfill our part of the bargain. Commander Phlox?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"We'll be going to maximum warp in a few moments."

"Acknowledged, Captain."

She turned to T'Pol. "Lay in a course to the Yamara star. Warp five."

"Yes, Captain...course laid in."

"Engage." They all felt the thrum of the engines as the ship jumped to warp. Musica's notes became doleful, uncertain, but it was obvious what "she" was thinking. Hoshi turned to 'her' again. "It's all right. We'll be there soon."

Jon frowned and objected, "We've got a problem, Captain. She needs to feed before we get to Yamara."

Phlox's voice came back on; they'd all forgotten he was still listening. "I believe if we can transfer enough energy to sustain her—-"

Travis winced. "Wrong kind of milk, Phlox, remember? We don't want to make her worse."

Suddenly, Malcolm's voice joined from Sickbay. It made sense that the doctor was also monitoring the situation. "The Decon chamber. She can stay there in the meantime, and if Commander Phlox can adjust the frequency of the cleansing field to match what she needs as closely as possible--"

"It might work," Travis cut in, his optimism rising. He turned to Musica and said, "We can show you a place where you can...um...eat a little. It won't be ideal, but hopefully it'll be enough to get you to your new home."

"I'll have to monitor her closely, to make sure she doesn't become any 'sicker'," Malcolm commented again. "Inform her that I will do all in my power not to cause her any harm."

Travis chuckled. So Malcolm was also treating 'Musica' as if she was a living being, which she was, in a manner of speaking. _To boldly go and explore new worlds and seek out energy creatures that live off stars...hey, that's what we're here for, right? _He told her what Malcolm had promised, then waited for her answer. The chimes sounded still uneasy, but Jon looked up and nodded.

"She agrees, but on one condition."

"What condition?"

"That either you or Hoshi stay with her. Preferably you. Especially around Doctor Reed."

They all heard Malcolm's exasperated sigh and a few chuckles broke out around the Bridge. Despite himself, Trip couldn't resist remarking, "Seems like you've picked up an admirer, Travis."

Travis sighed; he swore that he could feel Musica's smirk, although there was no visible expression on her "face". He glanced over at Hoshi, who was trying to hide her own smile and wasn't being very successful. "All right."

"Consider yourself on detached diplomatic duty, Travis. Lieutenant Varianis and Crewman DeLorenzo can hold the fort for a little while." Hoshi nodded at him, then at Jon. "Thank you, Jon."

"No problem, Captain." Jon went over and handed the UT to Travis. "Have fun."

Travis only sighed again, but he smiled at Musica again.

* * *

**February 11, 2154**

Chief Science Officer's Personal Log, Commander Travis Mayweather

We've arrived in the Yamara star system, where we are preparing to say good by to "Musica". She told me about her people, the Iruii. There are only a handful of them left, who live in the photospheres of stars. Musica is one of the last of her kind; she is the equivalent of a three-or-four year old child (so Phlox was right in that sense), and expects to live for another fifty or so years. And like a kid, she was eager to share her experiences with the crew once she felt she could trust us. Phlox is like the father she never had, and Trip treats her like his younger sister. Malcolm surprises me...he and Musica actually got along well, once the initial, um..."misunderstanding" was ironed out. We've become her surrogate family, so to speak.

But it will be only a matter of time before the Iruii become extinct, for they can no longer reproduce themselves. That makes me really sad. This farewell is rather bittersweet, and I can't help but feel rather protective of her, like she was a kid sister.

---end log

* * *

Yamara blazed on the screen, even though Jon had adjusted the viewscreen for minimum intensity. He nodded at Travis, who said, "This should be close enough, Captain."

Hoshi said, "All stop, Lieutenant T'Pol."

"Yes, Captain. All stop."

Trip looked up from his board. "Shields are at maximum, but I wouldn't suggest hangin' around too long." There was a screech, like a needle dragging over an old vinyl record, and Trip jumped as Musica appeared right next to him. "For God's sake, girl, I wish you'd quit doing that. You just scared me out of year's growth!"

The ship's computer chattered and Musica rang in laughter. Slowly, she circulated around the Bridge, pausing in front of each person and dipping her head in a kind of farewell. Travis grinned widely as she extended her tentacle and touched Phlox on the shoulder, then did the same to Jon and Hoshi. At Malcolm, she jangled in what sounded like mixed affection and cheekiness. To everyone's surprise, Malcolm chuckled.

"I shall do my best to make sure they all stay well, my lady, as long as you stay out of mischief. No tantrums, all right?"

Musica chimed her agreement, even as he raised a disapproving eyebrow at whatever she said. She turned to Travis and wrapped a line around his upper arm. He blinked, then...

_...he was suddenly flying through space without a starship, feeling the stellar winds in his hair and on his skin, seeing nearby stars through __her__ eyes, feeling the utter joy and excitement of finding a new home, a new place to live out the rest of her existence..._

...and then he dropped back into his own body. Travis blinked. "Uh...wow."

"You all right?" Hoshi asked, with a look of concern. Malcolm had taken a step in his direction, but Travis waved him off.

"I'm okay." He smiled at Musica. "Thank you."

She dipped her head, gathered herself into a compact bundle, swooped over the Bridge one last time, then disappeared through the nearest bulkhead.

"There she goes," Travis murmured. He bent over his console and kept an eye on the readings on the external scanners. Musica sped towards Yamara like a dying comet, her dim curtain of light growing ever so fainter by the overwhelming glow of the star, and she disappeared from view with a finality that put a lump in his throat.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. "At least she's home, Travis, where she can survive and thrive," Hoshi told him quietly. "She has her whole life ahead of her now."

"Yeah, but why do I feel like I'm abandoning a kid sister?"

Commander Phlox chuckled wistfully from his position next to Trip Tucker. "All parents must let go of their children sometime, Commander."

Travis shook his head and smiled at the engineer. "You know it better than I do, Phlox."

"I have every confidence that you too will understand in time." The Denobulan grinned, inclined his head at Travis and Hoshi, and exchanged a look with Malcolm before leaving the Bridge for Engineering.

Hoshi nodded at Travis before resuming her seat. "Let's see what else is out there, Lieutenant T'Pol. Take us out, warp two."


End file.
